What you can recycle
Remember to make sure items for recycling are:
- Clean: free from food and drink leftovers - this will also help to stop your bin from smelling
- Dry: keep your recycling bin lid shut - soggy paper and cardboard can't be recycled and can clog up machinery when sorted
- Loose: not tied up in plastic bags
- Squashed flat: you can then get more in your bin and we can get more into our recycling collection vehicles and make fewer trips
Find out what you can (and can't) recycle:
See also:
Things you can recycle: Mixed paper and card
We can recycle:
- cardboard (flattened) - including cereal boxes, egg boxes, food packaging sleeves, inner tubes from toilet and kitchen rolls
- corrugated cardboard (cut or torn up to fit in your wheelie bin) - such as online shopping home delivery boxes, or larger moving home type boxes
- greetings cards (without glitter, although a small amount is fine)
- catalogues and telephone directories
- junk mail and envelopes (including with windows)
- magazines
- newspapers
- paper
- wrapping paper - if it passes the scrunch test! Scrunch the paper in your hand. If it stays scrunched up it doesn't contain any plastic and can be recycled. If it springs back open it contains plastic and can't
- pizza boxes - as long as they are clean with no grease soaked in
We can't recycle:
- padded envelopes
- paper towels
- tissues
- photos
- shiny / foiled / metallic wrapping paper (that doesn't pass the scrunch test)
- shredded paper - this clogs up our equipment, but can be put in your home composter or taken to the tip
- books - these can be taken to a charity shop or recycled at the tip
Back to top to see what else you can recycle
Things you can recycle: Metal cans and aerosols
We can recycle:
- aerosol cans - empty and with lid removed
- biscuit tins
- drinks cans
- food cans
- metal lids from bottles and jars - please remove first and put them loose in your bin
See also: Foil and foil trays below
Note: For safety reasons please do not try to squash or pierce aerosol cans.
We can't recycle:
- baking trays
- batteries
- electrical items
- garden tools
- gas canisters
- knives
- wire coat hangers
- paint tins
- printer cartridges
- saucepans
- utensils
A lot of these items can be recycled at your local tip.
You can recycle household batteries at many supermarkets and shops.
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Things you can recycle: Plastic bottles, containers and packaging
We can recycle:
- plastic bottles (with lids removed - these cannot be recycled)
- plastic pots
- plastic tubs
- plastic food trays
- plastic pot, tub and jar lids - please remove first and put them loose in your bin
- Easter egg packaging
- Takeaway food containers
- blister medicine packaging
We can't recycle:
- small plastic bottle tops - see note below
- plastic carrier bags
- food bags - for salad, chips, bread etc
- plastic wrap
- bubble wrap
- polystyrene
- plastic coat hangers
- plastic toys
- printer cartridges
- garden plastics - plant pots, seed trays, tools etc
NOTE: Plastic bottle, jar or tin lids/tops:
- Smaller plastic bottle tops: such as squash or water bottle lids and milk bottle lids - these lids can't be recycled by us (we can take the plastic bottles though)
- Larger plastic jar or tin lids: such as coffee jar lids or coffee tin lids - these lids can be recycled by us - please put them loose in your bin (not on the jar or tin)
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Things you can recycle: Glass bottles and jars
We can recycle:
- glass bottles - wine, beer, sauce, etc (any colour)
- glass jars - food, coffee, jam, etc
Note: Metal lids from bottles and jars can be recycled, but please take them off the bottle or jar and place them loose in your recycling bin.
We can't recycle:
- kitchenware - eg glass dishes or Pyrex
- drinking glasses
- glass vases
- microwave-proof glass
- milk bottles
- mirror glass
- oven-proof glass
- paperweights
- window glass
- Spectacles (glasses) - most opticians will recycle your old glasses
- Lightbulbs
- Fluorescent tubes
- LED lightbulbs
- Low energy lightbulbs
- Ceramics
- Crockery
Note: These all have different chemical properties to 'normal' bottle/jar type glass.
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Things you can recycle: Foil - tin foil and foil containers
We can recycle:
- aluminium or tin foil
- aluminium or tin foil containers
- takeaway foil containers
Note: Please remove as much food residue or oil as possible before it goes in your recycling bin and scrunch the foil up (not folded).
We can't recycle:
- crisp packets
- shiny / foiled / metallic wrapping paper
- food pouches - eg baby food, pet food, soup, yoghurt, etc
Fat, oil and grease are 'unflushables' and the scourge of our drains:
- Let fat cool down until it is solid, wrap it up and put it in with your rubbish.
- Pour any used oil (once cool) into a container and take it to your local tip (Household Waste Recycling Sites or HWRS) where it can be recycled.
- Wipe residual oil out of frying pans or oven trays with a paper towel and put it in with your rubbish.
- Even if you try and break down oil and grease with soap and hot water, it can re-solidify once it cools down blocking drains and sewers.
To avoid blocking your drains, follow Southern Water's advice on:
- How to deal with cooking fat, oil and grease - on the Southern Water website
- What not to flush away - 'Bag it and Bin it' campaign - on the Southern Water website
- The Unflushables (eg items such as wipes, nappies and cotton buds and others) - on the Southern Water website
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Things you can recycle: Cartons (tetra paks)
We can recycle:
Cartons are often called tetra paks
- fruit juice cartons
- milk cartons
- smoothie cartons
- soup cartons
- other cardboard cartons
We can't recycle:
- plastic tops/lids from the cartons
- plastic straws
Back to top to see what else you can recycle
Recycling other items
To find out how to dispose of any item please view Recycling A to Z - on the West Sussex County Council website.
If you are unable to take items yourself to a Tip (Household Waste Recycling Site), then our bulky waste collection service for a fee will be able to help you out.
Have you considered donating unwanted items to charity (clothing, furniture, books, CDs, DVDs, etc)?
Did you know?
Small changes can make a difference and if every household in Adur and Worthing recycled ...
- 1 additional squash bottle per week the Council could save over £13,000 per year. These can be recycled into: bin liners, carrier bags, plastic bottles, flooring & window frames, insulation board, fencing & garden furniture, water butts, garden sheds, composters, seed trays, fleeces, fibre filling for duvets, pillows etc and a variety of office accessories
- 1 extra cola can per week, in one year could save over £7,000 on landfill tax
- Recycling just one extra wine bottle per month would save over £26,000. These can be recycled into new bottles and jars or used for road surfaces
- Aluminium foil, trays and aerosols are recycled into new cans and car parts
There is an ultimate cost of tax passed on to the council tax payer for every tonne of waste which goes to landfill. The benefit of diverting the expected tonnages of materials will avoid disposal fees over the coming years, money which could be used to provide benefits to the community.
Need assistance? Get in touch:
Recycling, Refuse and Waste
Page last updated: 29 January 2021